A current practice providing connectors for the termination of multiconductor telecommunication cables to drop wires feeding local telephone distribution is seen in commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,993,966, to which incorporating reference is made for all purposes.
In the '966 arrangement, a connector block having a stub cable assembled therewith is adapted for the receipt of terminal modules, which are fabricated separately from the assembly of connector block and stub cable. The terminal module comprises a base securable with the connector block and adapted to support insulation-displacement contacts (IDCs), a drop wire support member having conductor seats, through which the contacts extend, a cap or housing element, and a bolt extending through the cap and threadably engageable with the base. The cap defines passages therethrough in registry with the conductor seats of the support member to permit entry of the conductors to be terminated into the module.
To protect the conductor terminations from ambient environment, particularly moisture ingress, a sealant gel is disposed in the module around the IDCs. To complete termination, the conductors are inserted into the module through the sealant gel and the bolt is threaded into the base, advancing the IDCs into terminating engagement with the conductors within the sealant gel, thereby sealing the conductor and IDCs and the termination. As is discussed also in the '966 patent, the contacts extend outwardly of the base and are connected to conductors of the stub cable.
One aspect of the terminal modules and electrical connector terminations under consideration is expeditious manufacturability thereof. In particular, the preferred gel is a compound that is in a liquid state and cures with time and temperature to a suitable consistency. It is desirable to manufacture the terminal modules using such a gel in a manner that is most cost-effective and easiest to handle during fabrication processing.